A Time For Wolves
by Eirene29
Summary: The only thing Rhea Lupin has is her family. Growing up with a single werewolf for a dad, her immature godfather and her two best friends, makes her family different but it's home. Suddenly Rhea and Leo Black are sent in a world where they were never born, family members become strangers and a different Harry Potter needs help to destroy the Dark Lord.(CHAP. 1 AND 2 REWRITTEN)
1. Grimmauld Place

A teenage girl was sitting on the window seat in her bedroom, looking down on Claremont Square—a small, unassuming corner in London, if you didn't know what to look for. Or if you were a Muggle.

Rhea was so engrossed in thinking about her troubled, dark-haired friend, she didn't notice the sound of the quill she was holding dropping on the wooden floor, the ink stain almost invisible on the worn, dark oak.

The reflection in the glass of someone entering her room was enough to distract her. Rhea recognised her best friend from his cheerful stride and the muggle song he was whistling. Leo's father - Uncle Sirius - always managed to play that noisy, hideous muggle music on every holiday, despite her own father's best efforts in hiding that ancient phonograph.

There was nothing quite like waking up to 'Anarchy in the U.K.' on a Christmas morning, a tradition that had been going on strong for the past ten years in the 'Ancient and Noble House of Black', she thought mockingly. A couple of well-placed pillows usually blocked the noise just enough to go back to sleep. Something Harry had taught her to do years before, during the Christmases they had all spent together.

But last Christmas had been different; for the first time since they were five years old, Harry hadn't spent the last Christmas break with them.

Their dads wouldn't talk about it, not about what _really_ was going on anyway. Naturally, Leo and Rhea became immediately suspicious after all it was in their Marauder's DNA, but not even Harry would tell them what had been going on once they returned to Hogwarts after Christmas.

He had actually tried to avoid them, _the nerve_, spending much of his time with his closest friends in his year, Ron and Hermione. The fact that he was a year below them didn't help at all. Leo didn't share a dormitory with Harry, so it wasn't possible to corner him to speak privately.

After a month or so, Leo and Rhea both gave up the 'Harry hunting' just so they could go back to being close friends. Of course Rhea had never stopped really thinking about it, while Leo had stopped dwelling on it. _Typical_.

Leo, the boy that had just interrupted her very serious thinking session, casually threw himself on her unmade bed, arms behind his head. "You'll get wrinkles, Rhea," he said, glancing at her through half-lidded eyes.

"What?"

"Ah," he sighed, as though whatever he was referring to had been obvious. "If you keep thinking that hard, I mean."

Rhea sighed and retorted with a bit of impatience "Well _I_ think Harry's situation warrants it, don't you?"

Leo just stared at her, grey eyes unmoving and uncomprehending. He was probably re-analysing every word he'd ever said to her, trying to figure out if he was at fault somehow.

She couldn't help but sigh again. He was usually perceptive about these kinds of situations, he could sniff out a lie just by looking at someone. This was supposed to be his speciality.

"It's not your fault," she huffed and hugged her knees closer to her chest, almost reluctant to say she had been pondering on the same thing since Christmas break. It was already summer now, after all.

Unlike his usual self, Leo was silently waiting for her to continue. Reading her expressions and feelings was another talent of his, honed from living under the same roof for the past ten years.

"I'm thinking about Harry, of course," she huffed.

"Erm, yeah?" he said utterly confused.

"Ugh, I can't believe I have to spell it out." She got up and glanced briefly at the dark, empty corridor out of her room, before sitting beside Leo on the bed.

In a hushed voice, she said; "I meant that whole Christmas affair." Rhea gave him a meaningful look.

At last, understanding seemed to descend on Leo's face, whose eyes had grown comically wide and whose lips had parted slightly.

"You're still thinking about that old story?" Unfortunately, he sounded more surprised by her inability to let things go than with the problem at hand.

"Of course I am. And it's not old! It was _only_ last Christmas."

He clasped her shoulders, "That's _eight_ months ago! Didn't you hear?! It's summer now." He was starting to shake her back and forth now, "Eight. Fff-fluffing. Wait. F-fluff." The shaking slowed down and his brow knitted in confusion.

"You can't swear in this room, dad put up an Anti-Teenager Swear Charm in June."

"He did _what_?"

"Yeah, I know, I know," she said, almost rolling her eyes, "overbearing parent."

"Where did he even find something like that?" Leo spat indignantly, the shaking once again picking up with renewed vigour, but with a glint in his eyes. She knew he wanted to find that spell for later use. Probably on some dirty-mouthed first year.

"I don't know, some Housewife Spellbook or something," she retorted, disinterested. "The library here is pretty extensive, as you should know." She told him in what she thought was a matter-of-fact tone. They were getting side-tracked. She locked her arms over his, to stop his shaking her, in an odd sort of wrestle and she stared at him. "The point is, you didn't really believe what my dad said about the Dursleys, right?" That was more a statement than a question.

"No, but Uncle Remus was lyin-" he stammered, closing his mouth before he could finish saying that awful word. It was irrational, but she just _hated _thinking again about the lie her dad had told them during Christmas break. She just hated not being in the know, this sort of family was pretty much founded on honesty. When they were kids Uncle Sirius had actually carved over the kitchen's fireplace _'us against the world'_. Kreacher had a fit.

She had to force herself to look pointedly at a crack on the wall, to contain the anger she felt bubbling in the pit of her belly. That took a lot of effort, but she forcefully started breathing in and out, the way Dad had taught her.

Some fumbling noises were coming from beside her, then a warm hand on her back; she couldn't pretend she was okay, for Leo knew her too well. "I don't know why you're taking it so badly, but Harry doesn't really want to talk about it, remember?"

Rhea bit her lower lip, shrugging Leo's hand off her back, "How are _you_ taking it so well? We know they're hiding something, they probably know _we_ figured it out months ago, too." She stopped talking for a moment, all that breathing in-and-out crap was going down the drain right now. "I mean, we're about to start our fifth-year for Merlin's sake!" she huffed indignantly.

The room was becoming progressively hotter, even though she was wearing a thin t-shirt. She got up mid-sentence to open the window and take a breath of torrid summer air that did nothing for the already hot room, "Aren't you the tiniest bit curious about it?" she asked from her place in front of the opened window.

Instead of answering, he took a few steps closer to her, every trace of the previous cheerful expression gone, and replaced by a pair of stormy grey eyes. She recognized that look.

"Do you think I like it when Harry keeps things for himself, instead of confiding in us?!" The way he pronounced 'us_'_ \- it was a short word, almost insignificant in a long sentence to anyone else - to them, it involved a lot more. She could feel an instant sense of belonging—of safety—wash over like a pleasant shiver.

It was a feeling impossible to define with words: she felt like a child drawing pleasure in knowing a secret no one else in the whole world knew. It always brought back memories of their childhood.

Since they were five years old, they had been taught their family was a unit, a pack. What was just a stupid old game when they were young was now the harsh reality they had learned to live with. They had to. A lot of things had to be kept in the family. They couldn't risk it; being outed meant social suicide. Maybe something worse, if the wrong people found out.

As a consequence, they were all quite protective of each other, Leo especially took every little comment about any family member as extremely insulting, even when it wasn't intended to be.

He had built quite a reputation in his four years at Hogwarts. Everyone in Gryffindor knew that. Just to be sure, nobody ever even mentioned any member of their family. No one wanted to be the victim of Leo's pranks, it could get a bit out of hand when he wanted to get revenge over someone.

Leo usually managed to hide the anger behind a stupid prank, but the intensity of the joke was telling. At least Harry and Rhea could tell whenever the prank was a revenge-prank or just a fun-prank.

In the last eight months, he hadn't talked much about the whole Christmas affair. Now that she had brought up the issue, Rhea saw him break down.

Rhea crossed her arms and spoke, "So, you don't really believe it's an old story? You see why we really need to bring Harry back _in_," she said looking away to dissolve the tension he had created.

She saw him slowly un-clench his fists, his jaw relaxed, and his eyes cleared of the clouds that had darkened them just a few moments before.

They both knew they needed a battle plan to get the truth out of Harry - he was too stubborn to surrender himself to their questioning, but why?

They needed to find out.

"He's going to arrive at Grimmauld Place soon," Leo said, crossing his arms and gazing out of the window. "We'll get him to talk this week."

Rhea wasn't surprised by Leo changing his mind so quickly. She had made sure he saw it from her perspective; it was a family matter and Harry _was_ family. It didn't really matter how much he wanted to hide whatever happened.

Rhea just let her body fall on the window seat, elbows on knees, she was thinking hard on how to bring Harry around. She still couldn't imagine why he didn't trust them with it.

They had been plotting for about five minutes before a gentle voice startled them into silence.

"Oh, here you are, you two," said Rhea's dad; Remus. He was looking at them with a raised brow, slightly preoccupied about whatever they were planning. He always became apprehensive whenever Leo and Rhea were talking in such a secretive manner. "Are you planning something again?" he said, with a mixture of worry and amusement in his voice.

Rhea grimaced, her dad had the innate gift of always guessing when they were up to something. They were _fluffed_.

Oh, that was _ridiculous_.

She couldn't even think swear words, now!

She must have had that thought written all over her face because her dad asked, "Are you alright there, love?"

Rhea plastered a sweet smile on her face, the kind that made her dad melt. "Of course, dad, we were just-"

"Talking about Harry!"

Rhea's head spun so fast she almost lost her balance, _what was he doing. _She tried to petrify him with her eyes, but he wasn't looking at her, he was looking at her dad with a tremulous smile on, that idiot.

"Right," her dad said, uncertain, "he's probably going to be here soon." Rhea was praying to the four founders of Hogwarts her father didn't notice how much of a bad actor Leo was.

"You should probably get his room ready," Remus continued, looking pointedly at Leo, who seemed to get the message. Rhea rolled her eyes at her dad's antics while Leo left the room with his hands deep in his pockets and his round shoulders sagging a bit more than usual.

Remus followed Leo with his eyes until he was out of earshot and then turned on his feet, hands in his brown trouser pockets, looking at her with a lopsided smile. Rhea couldn't help but smile back and suddenly she felt the urge to confess what they were planning. Relying on the person that was the center of her world came as naturally as breathing, but she got that idea out of her head just as fast.

This time she couldn't rely on him. As much as she loved her dad, this time he was the one lying. He was at fault. So much for their family rules.

But there was no need to confess anything, "You didn't really believe me last Christmas, right?" he said, pressing his lips in a straight line.

She should have seen that coming. He already knew.

"Harry _is_ going to come, right dad?" She was good at dissimulating and deflecting attention. Now she just needed to make sure their plan was going to happen.

Remus sighed, shaking his head as he sat down next to her, "yes, he is, love." then he added with a chuckle, "I'm sorry to disappoint you, but you'll have to bear with us for a few more days before that." His unapologetic tone was at odds with the merriment in his eyes. He stopped chuckling at his own joke when he noticed his daughter hadn't joined in.

As much as she was angry at him for lying, she couldn't stand to see the worry in his pale green eyes and the wrinkles that were forming on his forehead.

He looked ten years older whenever he became concerned over her. She managed to shrug and smile at him, in what she hoped was a reassuring manner.

"You're too smart for your own good, sometimes," he said, kindly caressing her fine, long, sandy hair, so similar to his own. Rhea took the gesture as a cue to snuggle closer to her father; Remus instinctively reacted, putting his arms around his daughter protectively. They both closed their eyes, revelling in the warm hug.

"You know, you do look uncannily alike when you both make that face," said a playful voice.

Both of them turned away from the hug to look at Sirius, leaning on the door

frame, still wearing his coat.

"I trust that Harry will be here in a few days, Padfoot?"

"Oh yes Moony, I made sure of that."

The two exchanged a significant look, communicating through their eyes a message only they knew.

Rhea knew that look, something was going on at Harry's house on Privet Drive. She and Leo had always known that Harry's relatives weren't the loving Uncle and Aunt. Harry never said much about them, besides that they didn't like him as much as Uncle Sirius and Uncle Remus did. But after last Christmas it looked like something more than just plain dislike was going on.

Leo had always had good instincts, so it wasn't surprising he was the first to notice the change in mood every time Sirius went to pick up Harry from Privet Drive to spend the rest of summer at Grimmauld. It had been obvious for seven-year-old Leo, despite how young he was, that something was wrong with the muggles. They just never thought it was serious. Until last year.

Rhea's dad and Sirius left the room soon after, presumably to talk about how the recent trip to Privet Drive had gone. Leo had been the first to get the hint that his dad's sour moods were caused by whatever happened with the muggles. It wasn't difficult to understand _they_ had something to do with last Christmas.

Now they just had to connect the dots.

Rhea got up and leisurely headed to Harry's room, which was on the same floor hers and Leo's were. Although they were on the brink of resolving the whole Christmas mystery, she was feeling cheerful enough about finally seeing Harry again, so she decided to help Leo tidy up Harry's bedroom.

She was so absorbed in grabbing fresh linens from the cupboard in the corridor that she didn't hear a second annoyingly high-pitched voice coming from Harry's room.

It was too late. Before she could register who - or what - was talking with Leo, she had already opened the door, revealing the little ugly creature standing in the room.


	2. Family Reunion

Rhea should have known.

She should have known that idiot wouldn't actually clean Harry's room by hand.

_Of course not. That prat. _

Leo had to call for help. How could a pureblood teenager do _chores, _after all.

She was so furious, she had slammed the door of her bedroom with as much force she could muster. A loud _click_ had resounded soon after, effectively locking the door, without Rhea even touching it.

She was standing in the middle of the room. The old battered teddy bear on the bed was staring at her with its lifeless black eyes. Rhea gave it a dirty look and in a fit of rage, she grabbed it and violently threw it at the wall. It slid pathetically to the ground.

A rush of adrenaline and magic was flowing liberally in her body, making her feel powerful and dizzy. It wasn't a good thing. Her whole body was turning stiff with the effort, as she felt that if she relaxed just a little magic could stream out of her body.

In the back of her mind, a loud alarm was going off. Today's date was flashing like a warning sign. The realisation made her body tense with even more force but at the same time, she felt frustrated with the whole situation.

_Why her?_ She knew the answer to that.

Rhea could have cried at this moment; if she wasn't so petrified she might have, but instead, she forced herself to count slowly to ten and breathe. One. _Exhale_. Two. _Inhale_. Three. _Exhale_. Four-

She yelped in surprise as a knock at the door broke her focus.

"Can I come in, love?"

It was the gentle voice of her dad, her mind suddenly was wiped off all self-deprecating thoughts like a clean blackboard.

"Come in," she said in a voice that was barely over a whisper, but that was heard without effort. The door handle shook before she could move to unlock the door, a soft _Alohomora_ was muttered on the other side and it clicked open without opposition.

Remus's pale blue eyes were tender and soft when he locked eyes with Rhea's, she felt like he could read her mind. She couldn't help but hung her head; with her cheeks burning she sat on her bed and hugged her knees tightly.

A sigh resonated in the air and soon after Rhea's bed creaked under the weight of someone sitting on it.

"Love…" Remus's voice faltered, trying to continue talking was proving harder than she thought for someone like her father, who never seemed to run out of wise remarks. "You know Leo didn't do it on purpose, right?"

Did she?

At this point, she couldn't see how he wasn't at fault to some degree. If only that blockhead would have done the cleaning on his own. If he hadn't called for that…

She loathed just the thought of that…_thing. _

Thinking back on what happened in Harry's room made her blood boil. She couldn't get rid of those words. They kept echoing in her head. An infinite loop. _Dirty, half-breed, filth._

Even if only a few accidents of the sort had happened in the course of the last ten years that they had been living in Grimmauld Place, it still was a hurtful experience.

Not that she couldn't hear that vile creature mutter insults under its breath directed at every member of the family, but it usually tried to avoid contact with every human being in the house as much as it could. It went to the lengths of actually cleaning the house during the night. She shivered every time thinking of that _thing_ sneaking into her room while she was asleep. It was extremely creepy to wake up to a perfectly made-up bed, _with her still in it_.

While Rhea stubbornly kept silent, Remus lifted one hand to caress her head affectionately. Rhea relaxed in an instant; what usually comforted her in the aftermath of one of her outbursts was not a lecture on how to maintain calm or any wise little pill of knowledge. Silence and affection were what she preferred, it was what actually calmed her swirling thoughts and, in some cases, her volatile magic.

"Are you feeling better now?" her dad inquired in a low voice, resting his hand gently on her upper arm. Rhea finally lifted her face from her knees to look openly at her dad. She nodded and watched Remus's blue eyes turn a shade of warmer blue while a slow, satisfied smile spread on his lips.

"Give Leo a chance," he said in a tone that suggested he wanted to make peace. "You know he couldn't predict you would come into the room," he continued pleading with her with a significant look.

She frowned. He always had to play peacemaker, didn't he? It was the last thing she wanted to hear right now. She had the right to be mad, after the vile things the elf had spat so hatefully. It didn't matter that her dad was _technically_ right.

She didn't want to reason.

"But the things that —that— _thing_ said! You should have heard it, dad!" she stumbled over the words in her haste to protest her dad's unreasonable request. He put his hands up, interrupting her grumbling.

"I know, I know. Kreacher is quite a bit of a-er." Remus got a pensive look on his face, he was probably trying to find a word to describe the house-elf that wasn't a swear word.

Rhea rolled her eyes, "Dad! I'm almost fifteen. I know bad words anyway."

"I just don't want you to use them," he said, "at least not in front of you poor old Da, love," he added with a glint in his eyes.

Rhea crossed her arms in a sulking manner. Still, something inside her urged her to be angry, to destroy things and all sorts of destructive behaviours. She did know why those kinds of urges were especially difficult to ignore right at this moment.

Remus almost looked defeated for a second, before he gently took his daughter's arms and made her look directly at him.

"I know what you're feeling right now. You just can't get rid of the anger, can you?" he smiled sadly, the way he did when they ended up talking about this subject, "We're getting hit pretty hard this month, aren't we?" he said rubbing her arms with both hands in what was supposed to be a reassuring.

Rhea noticed for the first time that day that the dark circles under his eyes were darker and deeper than usual. His hair was more ruffled and in general, he looked pretty tired.

She wasn't the only one feeling prickly today. In fact, he was probably having it worse than she did. He was just really good at hiding it, after 20 and more years of practice. After all, he was the one who was a whole werewolf.

Despite feeling pretty grumpy himself, he was still putting her before anything else in his life, comforting her after one of her _stupid_ fits.

She looked down, feeling pretty ashamed of herself.

"I'm sorry, dad. I was acting like a really, really stup-," she muttered dejectedly before being interrupted again.

"A teenager," he finished for her, "just like you're supposed to."

"But, you were suffering too! And I could have noticed, and, and-"

Remus gave her arms a little squeeze to grab her attention. "Listen, love. I'm an adult. You are my baby girl and noticing things and making it better is exactly what my job description says," he said laughing a little, not in the least displeased with her as she thought.

Rhea started biting her lower lip. She wasn't entirely persuaded, but to not worry her father further with her own thoughts she smiled with tight lips.

Her dad's eyebrow shot up in an interrogating manner. As usual he could see right through her.

"I'm fine," she said shrugging to dissipate any bad thoughts,"Seriously, I just need a hug, dad."

He smiled lopsidedly and just opened his arms, inviting her to throw herself at him the way she used to when she was a child. The simple gesture was enough to bring a real smile to Rhea's face. Without second guessing she hugged her dad tightly around his middle, resting her head comfortably on his chest. While Remus's large hands were caressing her long, light hair.

They stayed in that position for a few more minutes until a small knock on the door got their attention.

The door cracked open before Rhea could say a word, and Leo's apologetic face popped in. She felt the smile slowly slid off her face. The atmosphere in the room completely changed in only a few seconds; the silence heavy and uncomfortable. The previous incident was still much too fresh in her mind, and she felt awkward being in the same room right now.

Without saying anything, her father patted Leo on the shoulder while heading out and managed to glance back at Rhea. The tight smile on her dad's face seemed to prompt her to be gentle.

Leo walked further into the room; eyes on the floor and he ended up awkwardly leaning against her four poster bed in what was a failed attempt at being casual.

Rhea automatically raised her brow at him when he finally met her eyes. His pose was so painfully awkward she had to bite her lips not to laugh.

He let out a nervous chuckle, "I'm really not good at apologising, am I?" he asked, abandoning any pretence.

Rhea finally let out a laugh while saying, "No, you're not."

Now that the ice was broken, Leo let himself slide down to sit on the end of the mattress.

"You must think I'm a prat," he started in what seemed his way of testing the waters.

"Just a little," Rhea said in a small voice.

"Yeah," he let out feebly, "I only had to open a window or, I don't know, fluff the pillows," he gesticulated wildly to demonstrate. "Instead of calling that prick."

"Fluff the pillows?"

Leo passed a hand through his long fringe, "Well, I don't know how to clean a room."

"Clearly," she said wryly.

He sighed, "Yeah, I'm a spoiled brat." Eyes downcast and shoulders sagging.

Rhea found out she wasn't really angry at him anyway, like her father had said.

"It's okay, I'm not mad at you."

Leo's head shot up instantly at her words, and added quickly after almost tripping on his own words in excitement, "If it's any help, Dad threatened Kreacher with a dirty sock. That was enough to make him beg forgiveness, you've should have seen it! I'm pretty sure Dad kicked his arse all the way to his den for good measure." He would have rambled more if Rhea hadn't stopped him.

"You don't have to make me feel better."

"Well, I kind of do. Kreacher said some horrible _shirt,_" Leo was confused for a second before huffing frustratedly, "Ugh."

"Can't swear, remember?" Rhea said, trying to suppress her laughter.

"I just," she sighed not knowing how to express the feeling of distress and anger she had felt hearing Kreacher's insults, "I don't know, he just makes me feel…vulnerable, I guess," she shrugged.

Leo was looking at her intently, prompting her to continue.

"I mean, he just reminds me why we need to hide my dad's lycanthropy, my _half-breed _status," at this she twisted her mouth in distaste remembering how Kreacher had spat that word, "why Uncle Sirius carved that stupid motto on the mantle, you know?"

Rhea knew she was rambling but she couldn't stop; all the anger and distress was transforming into frustration now.

"We _need_ to stick together or we'll have every wizard and witch out there saying what that vile creature said," she waved her arm around to get her point across. "Every day of the rest of my life," she finished bleakly and slumped back on the headboard; deflated after letting all that out.

Suddenly Leo moved from his place and plopped right next to her, jostling her a bit and comfortably wrapping his arm around her sagging shoulders.

"I'll never let that happen to you. Nor will my dad, you know," he said with such confidence in his voice that Rhea straightened her back a little. "I'll protect you with my body, my lady," he said in a mockingly serious voice.

She laughed and shook her head at his attempt to make her feel better, "All right. Thank you for the offer."

"Oh, I'll also start dusting my room! Kreacher will probably start banging his head on the walls, cursing me into next year or something."

"Don't be daft, he never curses at you as much as the rest of us. I don't think he can _physically_ hold a grudge against you, for some reason."

"I don't think muttering _blood-traitor," _he said, drawing his hands together in a hilarious imitation of the house-elf "qualifies as liking."

Rhea couldn't help but laugh at the ridiculous expression he had made, "Nice impression. Uncanny."

"Thanks. I've been working on that," Leo deadpanned.

They couldn't hold their laughter for more than five-seconds, soon they were laughing loudly together.

—-

A steaming hot cup of tea was sitting on the worn table top in the kitchen of Grimmauld Place. The lemony scent was wafting in the kitchen invitingly, but Remus hadn't even had a sip yet. He was staring blankly at the carved words over the mantle of the big fireplace at the opposite end of the room.

The silly words Remus had scoffed at so many times - _us against the world_ \- were Sirius doing, of course,_ trust him to come up with something ridiculous_. Initially it was meant as a bit of a prank, something to get on Remus's nerves—and on Kreacher's, of course—but it had been up there for ten years already.

Sirius or he had never bothered to remove it.

Incredibly the kids had loved it when they were little. Remus fondly remembered their little faces lighting up when Sirius got his wand out and waved it around. He could still hear their excited little squeals. They'd chanted those words for the next few months ad nauseam.

Much to Remus's displeasure they couldn't just erase it after that, _we wouldn't want to disappoint the kiddos_, Sirius had said grinning.

Back then they'd just arrived in Grimmauld Place, Rhea and him, just the two of them. Remus's heart jolted uncomfortably in his chest.

He had asked himself, why Sirius would ever choose his old childhood home to live in. When he was sixteen he had loathed it with such a passion that he had sworn to never put his foot in there ever again.

Remus hadn't been a proper friend to him those last few years after the end of the war. In his opinion he didn't have any right to ask such personal questions, especially when Padfoot had been so willing to welcome them to live with him and his son.

Until, a few days after they'd settled into Grimmauld Place, he finally understood.

How many nights had he been woken up by screams and pleads coming from Sirius's room? Pleadings for his son's life and for Marlene's life—that had been for naught—followed by agonizing screams of pain.

Sirius had warded the kids's bedrooms but not Remus's, he couldn't believe he had simply forgotten.

He'd wanted help.

He just couldn't ask for it. Never knew how to, even when they were teenagers roaming Hogwarts's halls.

From that point on, Remus had taken care of his nightmares with Dreamless potions and hot chocolate. That had been the turning point in mending their friendship.

And then there had been Harry, of course. He was the other reason that had brought them together again. The last thing that remained of James —and Lily, of course— the last person they could hope to protect, the last person Remus could have returned to Britain for.

Even though Grimmauld wasn't the house Harry had spent his childhood in, like Sirius and Remus had hoped he could, or even the entire summer break - now that he had started Hogwarts almost four years ago. No one could say it wasn't his _home_. And that the people living in it weren't his family.

Speaking of which, Remus shook his right arm free of the long sleeve of the jacket he was wearing to check the battered wrist watch. It was three minutes to 9 o'clock. Remus had the time to gulp half of his now disgustingly cold tea and toss the rest down the drain, before he heard a familiar _pop _outside the house.

Remus was leaning in the frame of the parlour's door, listening casually to the conversation happening outside. _"Alright there, Harry?" _Remus snickered, someone still couldn't stomach Side-Along Apparition.

A few seconds later, Sirius thrusted the front door open while guiding Harry in.

"You know James could not stomach side-along apparition too," he commented, eyes brightening, no doubt reminiscing a hilarious memory.

As soon as they crossed the entrance, Remus could hear a loud rumble coming from upstairs, approaching quickly. Harry's slightly green face lit up with a grin.

"Here comes the pack," Sirius announced in a sing-songy voice. It seriously sounded like the second floor was about to collapse.

Leo jumped the last three steps and got to Harry first. He and Harry flung themselves at each other at the same time, almost knocking themselves to the floor. Sirius was watching them, smiling proudly.

Harry had just succeeded to extract himself from Leo's hug when his daughter crashed into Harry with considerable strength.

"Harry!"

"Rhea!"

Harry lifted Rhea off her feet while hugging her tightly.

Remus was smiling at the dramatic scene in front of him. _Teenagers_. They'd only been apart for a couple of months, after all. Truthfully, he couldn't help the warm feeling washing through him. Harry was finally home.


	3. Harry Hunting

"Welcome home, Harry."

Remus's soft voice came from the door to the living room, far from the group's boisterous antics.

"Uncle Moony!" Harry greeted him with a hug, smiling so hard it was threatening to split his cheekbones.

Sirius came to rest a friendly arm on Remus's shoulders "Ready for another summer with this lot?" he asked, winking at Harry.

"Sure, Padfoot!" he said confidently, casually looking back at Rhea's and Leo's smiling faces.

"That's enough chit-chat, folks!" Leo declared loudly. He snatched Harry's rucksack, swinging it on his own shoulder "Gotta give the guy a bit of space!"

Rhea glared at him, arms crossed. Subtlety wasn't Leo's strongest suit for sure. For Merlin's sake, she had to do everything herself.

"Uh, what's up with him?" Harry was looking quizzically at the stairs where Leo had just disappeared with his backpack. Rhea had to think about something to save the day, and quickly.

She suddenly seized Harry's blue hood dragging him to the stairs, "Come on, Harry! I'll race you to your room, the last one is a horned slug!" That wasn't much better either, she thought as Sirius and Remus still looked very unimpressed.

"Hey! That's not fair. You had a head start!" Harry complained as he was left behind. Rhea felt Harry climbing the stairs three steps at a time, engaging in the childish challenge she had set and hopefully forgetting about Leo's weirdness just a moment before.

Remus and Sirius exchanged an amused look as the kids disappeared upstairs. Remus guessed they probably thought they were being smooth.

He smiled, thinking about the old days when Sirius's lack of subtlety almost got them caught countless times. Like father like son was a pretty accurate saying in Remus's opinion.

"So, what do you reckon they are planning to do to poor Harry?" Sirius asked, grinning, arm still resting on Remus's shoulders.

"Looks like they're planning to kidnap him. Let's hope it won't scar him for life," he answered jokingly.

They both shrugged, leaving the kids to their games, although it was far from it. Remus and Sirius still seemed to consider their children as the little kids they used to be, needing protection from certain matters. Which was how they handled 'difficult conversations'.

Despite Sirius and Remus's best efforts, the children were already heading into adulthood, and the last three years at Hogwarts hadn't actually been menace-free for Harry and consequently for Rhea and Leo.

Remus _hated_ thinking about the fact that in three short years, his _baby_ would not be a _baby_ anymore. He couldn't bear it, really. He had taken care of his precious daughter alone almost from the moment she was born, and in three years, she would be graduating and moving on to live her life, away from him.

Even if he didn't want to admit it, she was slipping away the moment she left for Hogwarts. Fighting battles she shouldn't be concerned with alongside Harry and Leo.

He selfishly wished some sort of stop-growing potion actually existed, so he could freeze both of them at this moment, that way she would stay his baby girl forever.

A small nostalgic smile formed on Remus's lips. _Ah, what a ridiculous thought,_ he was finally becoming a sentimental old man.

"Oh, mate, you should stop thinking about Rhea growing up," Sirius stopped his train of thoughts abruptly, "You always get mushy afterwards," he added, grimacing.

Remus glared at him, surprised for a second that Sirius could read him so well. For a moment, he had forgotten that they had known each other for more than half their lives.

"Don't give me that look. I can read you like an open book, Moony."

"Since when do you pay such close attention to what I think, Pads?" He tried to force a smile to get rid of the nonsensical wishes that were going through his mind a moment ago.

"Oh, I always do, old friend," Sirius casually spoke while descending into the kitchen, Remus in tow. Sirius probably could see his smile was strained but didn't comment on that. "You're just too worried about sheltering your daughter to notice it," his words held a teasing tone.

Remus felt the jab get under his skin. Sirius really didn't have a brain to mouth filter most of the time.

"Are you saying I'm overbearing?" Remus spat, suddenly irked.

Sirius sat forcefully at one of the high chairs at the table kitchen. "I never said that, Rem," he spoke, drumming his fingers on the wooden table, struggling to get the words out.

Remus was waiting with his arms crossed, ready to launch into a long tirade if he as much as thought the wrong word.

"What I'm saying is, you can be a bit too much sometimes. You're always there every step of the way-"

"Well," Remus interrupted him brusquely, "maybe it escaped your notice, but that's a parent's job. In case, you're having temporary amnesia, you are a parent yourself, Sirius." He finished his sarcastic remark as he sat at the other end of the table, back straight and stiff as a wooden board.

Sirius sighed a second time, eyes darting left and right. Remus could almost see him probing his brain for the smart thing to say.

"I know that very well, Moony, but the only occasion you have ever left Rhea out of your sight was to go to Hogwarts, and even then, you almost didn't! You wanted to homeschool her yourself!" Remus refused to acknowledge that Sirius did have a point.

Remus had never let Rhea do anything unless he was present. If she was playing in the garden with Leo, he was there. If she was reading in the library, he was there. If they were in Diagon Alley, he would trail after her in every single shop. Remus even used to sleep in the rocking chair by her bed before they had moved into Grimmauld.

He had to admit, he was scared to death at the thought of losing her. There weren't many people in the world he could consider family or friends - actually, the only family and friends he had, lived with him with the exception of Harry.

"You know very well the reason why I didn't want to send her to Hogwarts!" he whisper-yelled as if he was afraid someone would eavesdrop on their conversation. "She may not be a werewolf herself, but you've seen it with your own eyes, some-" he paused, "_symptoms_ have persisted," he knew he sounded exasperated like that had been the hundredth time they had this argument - they had!

"Dumbledore never cared, he let you attend-"

"And It was a _stupid_ choice!" startled by his own voice, Remus looked at the kitchen's door with panic in his eyes, afraid one of the kids would pop in. Sirius understood what he was referring to, just from Remus's stern words and gaze. Sirius looked at his clasped hands, jaw tight with the effort of suppressing undesired memories of the mistake of a night of full moon back in their fifth year.

After taking a few breaths to calm himself, Remus continued at a normal voice level. "It took me everything I had to let her go. I didn't want to make her feel any different, and Merlin knows we have worked hard enough to make _me_ look normal…" He trailed off and sat up straighter as he waved a hand as if to dismiss what he'd just said.

"You _are_ normal." Sirius looked up from his hands and fixed his fierce gaze into Remus's pale blue eyes. "This wasn't something you wanted. Rhea didn't ask for this either. We've talked about it thousands of times now, and we could go on arguing for another ten years, but you still don't get it. I thought you'd have gotten over that shite at this point"

Remus just looked pointedly into his friend's grey eyes.

"What. The kids aren't around. I can say _shite_ if I want to."

The corners of Remus's mouth slowly lifted in an amused smile. He had always been his number one supporter, and his only companion during the last ten years of full moons. Honestly one of the few people in his life that had stuck through thick and thin.

—-

Upstairs, Harry and Rhea were sprinting in the hallway to Harry's room, laughing and breathing heavily.

Rhea stopped mid-run upon entering the room. Leo was sitting cross-legged on the bed, his face bearing an expectant expression. Harry could barely stop himself from crashing into her.

"Hey! Why did you stop ?" Harry blurted out.

"Way to go, next time why don't you just tell them directly," Rhea crossed her arms, clearly annoyed at something.

Leo's face changed to a frown and he answered perkily "It's not like you had something better, did you?"

They glared at each other, while Harry looked between them back and forth like he was following a tennis match. Harry didn't want to ruin the start of his holidays with an epic fight between his two friends. Did they have to act so weirdly _precisely_ on the day he arrived at Grimmauld? There was an entire month for them to argue and make up, after all. Harry loved both of them as his brother and sister, but he was quickly getting annoyed at their bickering.

Harry stepped in between the line of fire, still huffing from the run, "What's going on? Do you really have to start arguing the day I get here?"

They held each other's gazes in silence for at least five whole seconds, it was honestly a bit weird how they could just communicate like that in Harry's opinion.

They could get loud and annoying when they had one of their disputes, but when they agreed on something, that's when they could become a menace. Which was most of the time, anyway. This time, Harry had the weird feeling he was the object of whatever they were arguing about. A small voice in his head — must have been his instinct — told him to run and hide.

"Uh, you guys are scary." Harry tried to shake off the feeling, running a hand through his messy black hair.

They both ignored his statement. Rhea stalked towards him, arms still crossed. She had the eyes of a predator finally cornering her prey, a mixture of determination and curiosity obvious in her piercing, dark gaze.

Harry was forced to sit on the worn armchair in the corner of the room. He was literally being cornered. Leo got up and stood beside Rhea, looking between Harry and Rhea.

"Er, I think you're scaring him half to death, Rhea," Leo said softly, darting his eyes from Harry's bewildered expression to Rhea's determined one.

She finally tore her eyes away from Harry's, who almost let out a sigh of relief and he sank deeper into the armchair.

"Well, he pretty much ignored us for the first half of last term. We have to be pretty firm if we want to get anything out of him," Rhea half-whispered to Leo.

"Yeah, I get that, but you don't need to hunt him down like a deer!"

They continued to whisper in hushed tones, ignoring the object of their investigation, who was listening intently with fast-growing irritation.

"Right," he said pointedly to draw their attention, "for once, I _absolutely_ have no idea what you're talking about," Harry said in a peeved tone.

"Ehm," Leo cleared his voice, "yes, well, mhm, " he was obviously having a hard time finding his words, especially with Rhea's eyes on him.

"_Yes_?"

"Ehm, I was wondering — _we _were — what _actually_ happened at Christmas?" He finished, scrutinising Harry's face for a reaction. The only thing he found was Harry's confused green eyes staring back.

"This again? I'm pretty sure Uncle Moony _enlightened_ you lot of the reason" Harry said sarcastically. It wasn't a lie, really.

Both his friends looked unconvinced; unfortunately for Harry they had known him since he was four. He couldn't lie as well as he could to Ron, Hermione and his other friends.

He didn't see why they had to know in great detail how much the Durselys actually loathe him. They already knew the essential bit; he didn't like his relatives and they didn't like him back. No lost love there. No big deal. Really.

So what if Sirius and Remus sometimes— actually on every single occasion — had to use a few threats to make the Dursleys give him Dudley's second room when he was four or decent clothes or decent food and to get him out of Number 4 every holiday? Anyway, the point was, whatever his relatives did or said to him wasn't really important enough to recount in detail to Rhea and Leo. Nothing the Dursleys ever did was worth wasting his breath.

"We're just worried, Harry," said Leo dejectedly.

"_Worried_ about what?" he spat crossly, realising he was getting worked up without a real reason.

"Why did you avoid us for months until we dropped the subject if what my Dad said at Christmas was true, then?" rebutted Rhea with conviction.

_She didn't know when to back off, did she?_ Harry nervously eyed the half-closed door and thought he could make a quick escape if only he wasn't as good as pinned to the armchair.

"Look, guys, we've known each other since forever, but some things are better off," Harry trailed off, frantically rubbing his neck, "unsaid," he finished, sighing.

Rhea had the decency to look ashamed — _she became a little too pushy, when she wanted something_, Harry thought.

"I thought we were your family, Harry." Leo was frowning at him now.

"Hey…" Rhea said while putting a hand on Leo's arm.

"No, Rhea," he shook her hand off gently, "we don't do secrets. This is how we stick together, this is about _our_ family."

_That_ was the only subject that could turn him real serious. Even when he argued with him or Rhea he was never mad for more than thirty minutes, he didn't like going to bed angry with any family member.

Harry was taken aback, he bowed his head looking at his worn-out jeans and he gave thought to Leo's words very seriously.

"Are we not, Harry?" Leo pressed on, his voice low and solemn.

"We are!" he quickly said, "you know I consider you my _only_ family!" he emphasised, looking directly into Leo's grey eyes. His heart was thumping faster in his chest until Leo nodded.

Harry was starting to get frustrated—both with them and with himself. They were his one and only family; the only one he ever knew and deep down he knew that he should be able to talk about anything with them. But, then again, he didn't see the benefit of sharing that part of his life. There was really no use talking about the Dursleys, it's not like they could do anything. Nobody, not even Sirius or Remus, could make him leave Privet Drive, not permanently. Sirius and Remus mostly kept his relatives in check anyway.

But… Ugh, he felt the beginning of a headache forming at the forefront of his head.

"Right, I don't really feel like talking about it now. If you don't mind." Harry rubbed at his forehead wearily.

Rhea and Leo seemed to accept his answer and simply nodded.

"We could probably talk about it later," Rhea mumbled, "If you're up for it, of course," she added as an afterthought.

"We don't want to force you or anything, mate. We just want to know if everything is alright. Dad always looks awfully upset every time he has to talk to your relatives, you know." Leo was looking at the carpeted floor, trying to explain the best way he could why they had come down so strong onto him.

"It's fine, mate." Harry grinned at them both to hide the surprise. Rhea and Leo left him alone _with his thoughts, _they said, exchanging the last few smiles before getting out of his room.

He knew Sirius - he was the one that dealt the most with them - hated the Dursley's guts but he didn't know just how much. Harry wondered why they never told Leo and Rhea the whole story; the reason why he wasn't at Grimmauld for Christmas like every year. What else had Padfoot and Moony kept to themselves?

"_We don't do secrets," _Harry whispered to himself.

It was how Sirius and Remus raised them, to make sure they'd never accidentally share Remus's status. To protect them. Harry didn't know exactly from what. Uncle Sirius could get paranoid.

Harry sighed.

But, why not Harry's secret? Harry thought back on how awfully open they had been about Moony's 'furry problem' since they were very young.

That thought reminded Harry about the image Sirius's fantastic tales had painted about a _very_ hairy superhero that came out only on full moons.

Harry particularly cherished the memories of the first summer he had spent here. The first time he met Sirius and Remus, he thought they were his heroes without capes.

When he was four, Harry had started to imagine countless times some distant relative would come to save him from his cupboard. Miraculously, or maybe magically, that was exactly what had happened. He couldn't have been luckier, because they were better than any faceless relative little Harry's imagination could conjure.

They were wizards. And Harry was one too.

The best part was that they had made the Dursley's regret ever treating him like a little annoying bug.

Obviously, not everything could be resolved with a spell. For starters, he wasn't swept away to live with Sirius and Remus as he had imagined. Honestly, that fact still made him mad; Grimmauld was one of the safest houses in Great Britain, he could have lived there and no one would know. But, of course, there were the blood wards, his mother had _allegedly_ placed on him before she had died, to maintain.

Dumbledore said that, but Harry was pretty sceptical of the whole matter.

From that moment on, Sirius and Remus's presence had made things better for him, and worse for the Dursleys.

At first, he couldn't believe he would be given Dudley's second room, which would become his own bedroom. Sirius had been so enraged that his own godson was being treated like a house-elf — Harry had to ask what it was — that he transfigured his relatives into small cockroaches and kept them in a glass jar for the rest of that day.

"_See if they like to be treated like annoying bugs." _Harry remembered Sirius saying.

Remus had remarked that Padfoot was just being petty and that he would _immediately_ turn them back, only to find that Harry didn't mind at all. He had actually given them the brightest smile and asked if they could remain in that state forever.

If little Harry had looked up at that moment, he would have seen Remus and Sirius exchanging a concerned glance. But he didn't and remained blissfully unaware.

That had to be the best day in his life, for sure. Seeing his relatives turned into cockroaches had been the highlight of his life. Maybe closely followed by the day he was brought to Grimmauld for the first time, a few months after their first meeting.

During the first week of August, he had been picked up from Privet Drive by Remus, as promised. It had taken a bit of, let's say, _convincing_ from Remus's part but in the end, he had stuffed some clothes into his backpack and left.

Harry remembered being surprised, in a pleasant way, when Remus hoisted him in his arms and told him to hold onto him tightly.

When little Harry expressed his surprise at being held for the first time ever, Uncle Moony's eyes went so dark with fury, Harry almost apologised in fear he had said something to offend him.

Of course those furious eyes were not directed at Harry in the slightest.

Grimmauld Place was the most magnificent house four-year-old Harry had ever seen. In Harry's eyes, it looked like a castle in a children's story.

Harry said so to Sirius, which elicited a very astounded look from Sirius's grey eyes.

In his opinion, it looked more like the abandoned den of some super villain from Remus's muggle comics, but he couldn't really argue with his godson's adorable imagination.

Harry didn't clearly remember the first time he met Rhea and Leo, having only been four years old. The only thing he could recall was that they had gotten along pretty well from the get-go. Leo was a boisterous child — when you only had Sirius as your adult role model, that was only natural — and Rhea had been a bashful little girl at first, but thanks to Leo's best efforts, she had rapidly warmed up to the company of other children. As had Harry who never had friends before.

If someone would have asked Harry to describe one of his happiest childhood memories, they would have been confused at his choice; it was so unexceptional and simple.

Just the first game of hide-and-seek he had ever played in the neglected and barren backyard of Grimmauld Place, Harry would have replied. With Padfoot and Moony watching over them, stretched out on faded red-striped deck chairs. Harry grinned; the image of his those two in shorts with shades on was a hilarious picture.

Even more hilarious was the memory of drinking a sugary muggle lemonade Sirius had attempted — and failed — to prepare. The consequences of three small children high on sugar had left Sirius and Remus breathless for the rest of the evening and traumatised for the rest of the week.

Thanks to Remus's Sonorus charm, Harry was pulled out of his reverie, the shockingly loud announcement that lunch was ready was heard in all rooms of the house.

He got up from the armchair he had been sitting on for the past hour or so, stretching his legs. As he exited in the corridor, he found Leo there, his arm came to rest on his shoulders. As they passed Rhea's room she got out too, smiling at them and she positioned herself on Harry's other side. He flashed them both a brilliant smile as they steered towards the kitchen where Sirius and Remus waited for them.


	4. Under the Willow Tree

_"[...]In one of the gardens grew an elder-tree, and in the other an old willow, under which the children were very fond of playing.[...]"_

* * *

The trio walked past the kitchen's doors to find Remus and Sirius already sitting at the kitchen table talking animatedly and laughing. As soon as Sirius noticed their presence, he stopped talking with a smile on his face.

"All good?"

A chorus of yeahs was heard in the room.

"So, did they tie you to the bed or something, eh, Harry?" Sirius jokingly asked, elbowing Remus and sharing an amused look with him.

Leo almost spat out his pumpkin juice and coughed violently, drops trailing down his chin. Rhea patted his back a little harder than necessary while spooning a bit of mashed potatoes into her mouth, pretending nothing was happening. That was always her Plan A whenever they were scheming something behind their dads' back.

Just smile and pretend everything is good. Of course, Leo was a terrible liar, most of the time.

Harry awkwardly smiled back to Sirius's beaming face, ignoring Remus's arched brow in Leo's direction.

"Yeah, just managed to escape," Harry answered wittingly, glancing to Leo's shaking smile. _Terrible actor._

If Sirius had seen through them, he didn't let on; he kept eating his lunch and talking with Remus, who was giving them the side-eye. Rhea plastered an innocent smile on her face every time her dad glanced in her direction. It used to work pretty well when she was younger, Remus couldn't resist his daughter's angelic smile. By now he had caught on though. Her dad figured out a long time ago she was a bit more mischievous than she looked.

"Ready to start a new year?" Remus changed the subject of the conversation lightly.

They all looked up from their chatter, Leo and Harry looked depressed at the thought of summer ending soon while Rhea was pretty excited to go back to Hogwarts. As much as she loved staying home, having fun _safely_ under her dad's watchful gaze, she also loved being away from it, having new adventures with her friends and learning magic. As much as Rhea liked having fun and maybe a brush with danger once a year, studying was also very important to her. Remus's school life had been pretty much the same as hers, or at least the stories Uncle Sirius liked to tell suggested that. Her dad had pretty good grades while being a part of the Marauders shenanigans.

And Rhea didn't want to possibly disappoint him, he was all she had, and she was his whole world.

"Well, I am!" she said smiling amid Harry's groans, she frowned at him.

"Well, I'm not looking forward to seeing Snape again," lamented Harry, twisting his mouth in disgust at the mashed potatoes in his plate.

"Is that git bothering you, Harry?" asked Sirius. "I can teach you some nasty jinxes." The eagerness was clear in his voice.

"Very mature, Sirius," her dad said, rolling his eyes with a sigh.

"Where's your Marauder spirit at, eh Moony?" Sirius animatedly gestured with his fork, throwing a bit of food in Leo's direction, who gasped in alarm.

"Dad!"

Harry was smirking, probably imagining Snape's hair would look nice in neon orange. "Thanks, Padfoot, but that'll only make him angrier at us, probably."

Rhea's enthusiasm about school died down thinking about the Potions Professor's eagerness to hand out nasty glares and biting remarks. If she didn't know better, sometimes Snape's intense glares, especially when the full moon was close, - it couldn't have been a coincidence - were making her suspicious about what Snape truly knew about her condition. Sometimes it looked like he knew exactly what was wrong with her and her dad. It was difficult to tell because he always looked like someone put flobberworm mucus under his nose, anyway. She dismissed the thought; if Snape knew something he wouldn't hesitate to divulge it. Getting rid of another Gryffindor would probably be the highlight of his life.

"You got all Es and Os, that's why you can't wait to go back!" Leo whined in dismay.

"That's not true! I got barely an A in Potions! And you have decent grades too, by the way."

"That barely counts, nobody gets more than an A unless they're Slytherins," he said morosely, obviously resenting the Potions Master.

Harry snickered at his friend, "Hermione does, but she's probably an exception!"

"We should just admit we suck at Potions," Rhea agreed with Harry, nodding her head slightly.

"A little genius like her dad," whispered not-so-quietly Sirius, Remus didn't say anything and just looked at his daughter, his heart filling with a warm feeling.

"More like a Head Girl in training," replied Leo gloomily in Remus's stead, thinking about how many pranks and adventures they would miss in seventh year.

Remus just smiled knowingly at his godson, "The Heads can be fun too if I remember correctly."

Leo turned his doubtful grey eyes in Sirius's direction, waiting for a confirmation from his dad. Sirius was munching and grinning at the same time as he watched his son stare. "I assure you, son, being friends with the Heads brings a lot of benefits," he confirmed with a mischievous glint in his own grey eyes.

"Well, James always had a soft spot for you," Remus commented softly with laughter in his voice.

Remus noticed how Harry got a hopeful glint in his eyes at Remus's mention of James, eager to hear if they would launch in another story about the "good old days" as Sirius liked to call them.

Sirius's eyes got misty with emotion, thinking about the memories of their Hogwarts days.

Neither Remus nor Sirius expanded on James's Head Boy adventures to Harry's disappointment.

Remus was the only one that noticed Harry's dejected expression; he was always hungry for new details about his parents, despite all the countless tales they had told him since he was four years old and had first entered Sirius and Remus's lives.

Remus couldn't blame him, he wanted to tell him more, to ease that void he knew Harry had in his heart. Sirius and Remus had tried with all their might to give Harry all the love they could muster and fill his heart with love and stories of his parents, but even if they had succeeded to a certain extent, they could never completely replace James and Lily's spot, nor did they want to.

Knowing that Harry would always feel something was missing made Remus's stomach churn. He loved the boy as much as his daughter and his godson, and he knew Sirius did too. The kids had also accepted him as their brother from day one. They couldn't really do more than what they'd already done. It was hard to understand what Harry was feeling; he couldn't really miss someone he never knew, yet he still felt something was amiss. Remus and Sirius had tried to make James and Lily as alive as possible in the boy's mind. However as Harry had never really known them, - their quirks, the small details of their personalities - that was even more difficult.

Remus still was concerned every time Harry returned to Privet Drive, even though it was for a short month. He missed Harry the same way he missed Rhea when she was away from him.

Fortunately, Remus and Sirius had arrived at Privet Drive on that sweltering summer day in 1985. As soon as Remus had read Sirius's last letter, begging Remus to come back to help him save Harry from_ "the worst type of Muggles he had ever met"._ As soon as Harry's name had been mentioned, Remus had decided to return to England. The only thing that could convince him to go back to the hellhole that had been the British Wizarding Community was Harry. Simply Harry. Not Harry Potter. The-Boy-Who-Lived. The Chosen One. Just Harry; a four-year-old living in a cupboard, slaving off to his Muggle relatives.

Regretfully Remus thought back to the time Sirius's fiancée had been brutally murdered in their small apartment a few years prior, even then, he hadn't gone back. He had been a shitty friend, but at the time, travelling alone with a two-year-old had been too complicated. Admittedly, he had also been wallowing in his own self-loathing, trying to balance his lycanthropy with Rhea's "sickly predisposition". He could have taken Muggle transportation if it hadn't been so expensive for his wallet. Remus still regretted it, even though Sirius had reassured him he understood his difficulties.

Thinking about the attack and her murder - _Marlene, _he didn't dare even think her name - made a lick of rage raise from his belly. The wolf in him - a forceful presence now that the full moon was so close - snarled, aching to tear every last Death Eater in England to pieces. Frowning he quelled his wolfish instincts down fiercely.

It had taken every last drop of restrain in him to not sweep away four-year-old Harry immediately. Sirius had mentioned Dumbledore had placed Harry with the Dursleys for a reason. It just wasn't much of a reason in Remus's opinion.

Sirius had argued Grimmauld was as safe as it could get, only Hogwarts could compete with the wards placed on the Black's Ancestral House. However, Albus clearly had already settled for sacrificing Harry's childhood in the name of a mysterious charm Lily Potter had _presumably_ cast before dying. No proof existed of such a charm even existing, let alone being cast.

Honestly, Sirius and Remus had always doubted this was the real reason Albus wanted Harry to remain hidden in Muggle suburbia.

At least they managed to get Albus to agree Harry _should, _at the very least, know of their existence. The two hours they had spent arguing and negotiating with Albus finally paid off. Occasional visit rights were obtained, to the relief of both Remus and Sirius. As the summer of 1985 came to an end, Sirius realised no one would really report if Harry was to be _misplaced_ \- Sirius had convincingly argued - for a day or two. So, additionally to summer, Harry was whisked away to Grimmauld for every possible holiday too.

_Padfoot, I'm pretty sure Vernon Dursley knows Thanksgiving is _not_ a Wizard holiday, _Remus had protested on such an occasion, a hint of mischievousness in his voice betraying him.

_So what, It's not like that walrus is going to object. _

And he was right, Vernon and Petunia would never object to spending less time with their nephew. They didn't care too much where the _freak_ \- as they called Harry - was taken. Or if they'd return him at all. In fact, they often looked disappointed to see them coming back.

Despite their smooth coming and going from Privet Drive every month, every time they set foot on Privet Drive, Remus couldn't stop feeling still very much observed. His cautious nature always nagged at him to cast a Revelio to identify a hidden Auror spying on them, but the spell never detected anyone.

Only the curious eyes of the residents of the other identical houses were following them like hawks. He could sense their fear and weariness in their scent, though it didn't take a werewolf or an Animagus to say so as they didn't worry about hiding it. Just one old woman seemed to hold no scorn in her eyes. Remus always coughed violently as they passed her house, the smell of cat piss was overpowering to his poor sensitive nose.

To Remus and Sirius's knowledge, Albus Dumbledore never took notice of the threats Sirius, occasionally joined in by Remus, spat in Vernon Dursley's face or that Harry Potter didn't spend a lot of time in Surrey.

Honestly, Sirius couldn't care less: Harry deserved to know magic, to grow up with all the love they could give him and to play with kids his age. They could sue him if they wanted to. He simply deserved a childhood, one filled with love and friends and magic. Just as James and Lily would have given him. Remus couldn't agree more.

The evening found Leo, Rhea, and Harry sprawled in the backyard under the only tree standing there. Considering Grimmauld Place was located in a residential neighbourhood, the backyard should have been quite small, however, the garden had been magically enlarged in length. Enough for the large willow to sit in the far right corner. It was an ancient-looking willow, its branches created a blue-ish curtain that swept at the patchy grass on the ground. It was so old that it had probably seen at least five generations of Blacks grow up in that house.

_Not a lucky tree._ Sirius had said during one of his bedtime stories.

It did look like an unlucky tree, if such things could be said about a tree, it had looked so withered and grey ten years ago. Maybe the Dark Magic practised by the members of the house of Black had sipped every single drop of life from it. The whole garden had always looked pretty yellow and dead, even during the peak of the Black House; no one really tended to it.

Ten years ago, when Sirius had moved back in with Leo, it looked like it should have been cut a long time ago, however, strangely enough after 1 month, 1 year and so on, the tree started to regain its original green-blue colour. Sirius had boldly assumed it was the presence of light magic in the house, and probably the purge the house had been subjected to from all Dark artefacts it contained.

The willow's branches were brushing softly over the three teenagers lounging in the grass. Blonde and black hair fanned out, uncaring about grass and small insects intertwining in their hair. Just like when they were children.

The afternoon was peaceful, filled with the song of chirping birds and the wind gently blowing a warm blanket of summer heat. No words were uttered and no thoughts were swirling inside their heads. A much-needed pause was put on the issues of their young lives.

Harry was finding it more and more difficult to keep his eyelids open as the willow branches were gently tickling his face and the natural sounds surrounding him were lulling him into a slumber. In the same way, it is when you're about to fall asleep, his mind was totally blank, but naturally, as the warm breeze that was washing over him, some images started flowing across his mind. Like the hazy movies they projected on a white sheet in summer, Harry felt like he was watching a movie about his life.

The first time he arrived at Grimmauld, the meeting with Sirius - finding out he was his godfather had been exhilarating - and meeting the first kids his age that didn't avoid him just because Dudley bullied them. As a matter of fact, there was no Dudley at all to worry about.

At first, his four-year-old self couldn't trust his newfound family not to turn bad at any second. Given his limited experience with adults, it was only natural for young Harry to distrust every single one. They were all nice in the beginning, but then a few words from Aunt Petunia would make sure he was treated like a criminal in training. Granted, he hadn't met many adults outside of his Uncle and Aunt, but all of them turned out to hate him in the end. So, understandably, Harry had been very wary, ready for the dream to turn into a nightmare - even though his relatives weren't there to change Sirius and Remus's minds.

Harry's reverie was interrupted by some whispers, at first, in his semi-asleep status, he couldn't identify where they were coming from. Soon he remembered where he was lying and the whisperers' identities came back to him. Damn, his short rest was already over. Well, he should have known quiet and his friends weren't a good mix.

Harry decided to keep his eyes closed, in preparation for what was surely about to come; the dreadful conversation he had promised they would have. He knew Leo and Rhea couldn't keep the curiosity at bay for much longer; it made him feel annoyed and warm at the same time. Harry shrugged internally, he supposed that's how having someone that loved and cared about you felt. Now the whispers were intensifying.

"Hey, do you think now it's time?" That was Leo.

"Em, don't know," Rhea answered pausing. The next thing she said was spoken too quietly for Harry to understand.

That wasn't like her, she usually went all in when something mysterious came up. Like a true Marauder, she couldn't help but meddle. Harry spoke from experience, a.k.a himself. It was running in their genes, Sirius once said. There was no escaping it.

Harry has been mulling over their conversation since lunch, he wasn't much closer to solving his dilemma if he had to be honest. He didn't like talking about anything that had to do with the Dursleys. Harry couldn't imagine how different his personality, his thoughts, his life, might have been if the Dursleys were the only adult influence in his life. Maybe he would have felt like he deserved the abuse, or maybe he would have just become indifferent to it all.

Grimmauld Place was his refuge, his safe place, literally, which meant he didn't have to think about them. He could ignore their existence for another month. When he was with his family, he was even reluctant to speak their names aloud. It might sound stupid, but saying their name felt like he was, in some way, letting them in Grimmauld; in his shelter from the rest of the world, a place he was very protective of.

The moment he let this thought sink in, he finally understood completely what family meant. Especially this family. Letting go of his past struggles meant freedom rather than exposure. It meant acceptance, love; something he'd strived for since he was young. He made his decision.

Harry sat up suddenly and called their attention, startling his friends.

"Guys."

"Jesus, Harry."

"You scared the hell out of us!"

Harry fixed his stare on Rhea's and Leo's prone forms huddled closer, ignoring their embarrassment, he continued.

"About Christmas," Harry gulped before dropping the bomb, "It was actually my fault." Harry fixed his gaze to the ground, embarrassed and angry at himself. When neither of his friends said anything, he dared look up. Rhea was frowning in confusion and Leo was arching his eyebrow sceptically.

Finally, Leo broke the awkward silence.

"Well, that sounds stupid." It was clear he wasn't taking him seriously.

"I'm serious!"

Rhea let out a disbelieving huff, "Right…"

"Ugh, come on guys." Harry felt stupid trying to convince them he was the one to blame. Wasn't it supposed to be the other way round?! "Listen to me; I lost control at the Dursleys the day before Christmas, they were being pricks."

Petunia had tried to ground Harry for some stupid reason—as if that would ruin his plans to go to Grimmauld—of course, she had to try, though. She couldn't pass an occasion to ruin Harry's happiness with his true family. Harry paused, trying to sound less frustrated.

"I accidentally blew up the Christmas's roast, it flew everywhere; the stuffing burned Vernon's face, a piece got stuck in Petunia's throat and Dudley of course just carried on eati-'' Muffled laughter interrupted his story, he let out a sigh.

"It's really _not funny, _the curtains even caught fire somehow-"

At this all hell broke loose, Leo and Rhea started rolling on the ground and laughing uncontrollably imagining the whole scene. Harry just looked at them slightly annoyed. He had to admit it was _kind of_ funny after all those months, but that wasn't the point he was trying to make.

"Oh-my-God, I can't breathe." Rhea sounded like she was trying to make an effort to regain a bit more control, as opposed to Leo who was still laughing with abandon.

After a few minutes, they were finally capable of looking at Harry without bursting into laughter.

"Are you done making fun of me?" Harry asked, exasperated.

"Wait a minute, what does this have to do with you not coming here for Christmas?" Leo asked, sounding finally interested in what Harry had to say.

"Well, as I was saying, I performed accidental magic. McGonagall showed up almost immediately, she vanished the exploded roast and put out the fire. She lectured me on accidental magic and asked a few questions to the Dursleys. My _loving_ Aunt," Harry struggled to bite back an insult, "put on her best simpering face and told her I was acting out because I didn't want to be grounded. She told her I was trying to escape to Grimmauld." At this point he was grinding his teeth in anger, the heat was rising to his head.

Rhea and Leo weren't laughing anymore now, their expressions were changing as Harry recounted what had happened.

"Of course she spoiled my plans for Christmas, she couldn't really resist," Harry said with resentment. "After that, Professor McGonagall prohibited me to _escape, _or whatever." Harry was angrily looking at a patch of grass now.

"But, but- how could Professor McGonagall believe them!" Rhea said scandalised.

"I'm not sure she did, but she knew I wasn't supposed to come here for Christmas. She must have passed on the message to Uncle Remus and Uncle Sirius."

His audience sent him sympathetic looks, they must have known the "deal" Dumbledore had made with their dads didn't really include Christmas, or any other holiday, for that matter. Harry couldn't imagine that in reality, they didn't really know about the real reason Harry had to stay at the Dursleys at least for two months.

"So, that's why it's all my fault," Harry concluded.

"It's hardly your fault! Your Aunt is a right nightmare. They deserved their damned roast exploding in their ugly faces," Leo declared incensed.

If Leo put it that way, Harry couldn't help but laugh a little at the memory. They definitely deserved it, but it wasn't worth spending Christmas miserable, in Harry's opinion.

"Is she really that bad all the time?" Rhea asked, changing the subject.

That was the moment Harry was dreading, but he put on a brave face and carried on.

"Right, I've never told you, but _she_ \- all of them, actually - were worse when I was younger." Harry could feel his heart pounding fast in his chest, Rhea and Leo were waiting for him to continue, probably sensing he was about to talk about something serious. Harry felt anger bubble in his stomach; he didn't want to give the Dursleys more importance than what they deserved. He ground his teeth but was extra careful to throw the next few words casually as if they weren't a big deal.

"I didn't have a proper bedroom 'till Uncle Sirius and Uncle Remus came around."

He hadn't exactly been specific.

"What do you mean by that?" Leo asked slowly as if he was dreading the answer Harry would give them.

Harry's answer was spoken in a reluctant voice: "I slept in the cupboard under the stairs until I was four."

His friends' mouths were hanging open at this revelation, Rhea even gasped a little, and looked like she was fighting the urge to put a hand to her mouth in shock, probably afraid the gesture would embarrass Harry in some way.

There wasn't really a proper way to react to something like that in Harry's experience. Or at least he didn't know if the adults had some standard phrase to say on these occasions. Like at funerals or something.

_I'm very sorry you had to go through that? Condolences on your shitty family?_

Harry should have probably expected some pity or detached sorriness, that was the standard adult response he imagined. Of course, Rhea and Leo subverted his assumptions as usual. As soon as they overcame the initial shock, Harry could see anger was clearly starting to raise on their faces

"What- How-"

"What the hell?! How dare-"

"How dare they- those sorry excuses for-

They were talking one over the other, spluttering indignantly, fury was alighting their eyes. Harry just sat there looking at them in surprise, they were probably way madder than Harry ever had been about it. He didn't really expect them to get so enraged, maybe because he never thought deeply about the Dursely's actions.

If he thought too much about it, he suspected he would constantly be a ball of anger and negative feelings. So, Harry mostly pushed everything associated with the Dursley's back into the depths of his mind. Locking the anger and resentment deep down. It wouldn't do him any good to dwell on it all the time.

He just allowed himself to think about it on a few occasions, but mostly when the anger became too much, it all exploded in his face. That was actually what had happened at Christmas, things had _literally_ exploded. The whole mess he had created was pretty self-explanatory as to why he buried it all down.

Hoping it would all go away. It worked most of the time, so Harry stuck with it.

When Rhea and Leo stopped ranting, they were both out of breath and a little red in the face. Harry couldn't explain why that sight made him feel quite relieved. Some of the resentment was leaving from his chest, making him feel the slightest bit lighter.

"I can't believe you never told us!" was the second thought, after the initial outrage, that came out of Rhea's mouth.

Harry kind of expected that, but he didn't really have a clear answer for that question.

"Uh, I don't know. I just hate talking about them. I kind of ignore their existence as much as I can," Harry said, shrugging.

His explanation was met with understanding. In Rhea's opinion, _they actually sounded like criminals_, she had said vehemently.

As Rhea was listing all the things that were morally wrong with his relatives Harry saw that Leo was looking pensively at nothing in particular. At first, he thought Leo had zoned out and was tempted to kick him in the shin or let Rhea know he wasn't listening. But she noticed before Harry could say anything.

"Hey, are you there?" she asked, waving a hand in front of Leo's staring eyes. Leo finally seemed to emerge from his trance, his eye refocusing slowly.

"I was thinking about something," he trailed off, "I was wondering why is Harry not staying with us If they are so awful."

Leo's logical statement had the power to refocus Harry's attention, it confirmed what he had been thinking; his friends didn't know about the actual reason he _had _to stay at Privet Drive. Harry wondered If he should say anything, was he even _allowed? _For the moment he decided to ignore it.

The evening turned to an end when the sky started to change colours and the almost full moon became visible in the orange and pink sky.

Rhea's dark eyes were turned to the moon, she appeared apprehensive. She turned her head back towards them and met their eyes in silent understanding. They all got up together and headed back inside, putting aside the questions their conversation had raised that evening.

* * *

I'm sorry it took this long! I was trying to make this chapter and the next as perfect as I could, but of course, perfection doesn't really exist ahah  
I hope you enjoyed it!  
Stay tuned for the next chapter, it's going to be packed with action!


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